A/N: See I was early so no need for the onions... The next chapter will be up during this weekend, so Sunday evening/night at the latest. I'm trying to get this fic written before Monday since then I start work at the hospital and I won't have as much time for writing as I have had this past weeks.
Oh and Let me know if there's anything hinky with the chapter since it's almost 1a.m and I really may not be firing with all cylinders right now but I decided to post this chapter now anyways because of all the lovely reviews you've left me and my tired mind was happy enough to post the chap and I really really hate onions so I thought better to post early than to risk it XD I'll shut up now ;) Enjoy!
When Gibbs went to his basement he picked up the sanding block and started up the motions of working on the boat on autopilot. He just ran the sander back and forth mindlessly and let the sounds and smells of his sanctuary calm the storm that was raging inside of him.
There were still some things he didn't quite understand, but everything Ziva had said had cleared some of his thoughts. He was surprised and elated by the thought that Tony might actually share the feelings he had for the younger man, even if he would have to talk to him to be sure.
That would also explain some of what had been going on with Tony lately. Gibbs was no fool, the mean words and everything Ziva had said and done to Tony that evening were most likely just the tip of an ice berg. The lie about the proposal was one thing he knew about, but there probably were a lot of smaller things she'd done during the past months to make him feel worse.
Gibbs strained his hearing when he heard movement upstairs but from the footsteps he gathered that it was just Tony getting up to get something to drink or to use the head so he continued the sanding as he let his mind drift once more.
His thoughts seemed to be going on in circles and the more he thought, the more he was convinced that he really needed to have a serious talk with Tony first thing in the morning.
Speaking of the younger man, Gibbs strained his hearing to catch any sign of him moving around again, but there was nothing. He looked at his watch and saw that it had been half an hour since he last heard any sounds from upstairs.
Deciding that the boat wasn't going to give him anymore answers that night, he put down the sanding block and slapped his hands together to rid them of the excess sawdust that had clung to his skin, before making his way to the stairs and ascending them.
Upon reaching the top, Gibbs' gut started churning as he realized how quiet the house was. He noticed the light in the kitchen but ignored it for the moment in favor of checking if Tony was sleeping on the couch and had left the light on for some reason.
He checked the living room but as he saw that it was empty he made his way to the kitchen where he took stock of the empty room and he ran a hand through his hair. He figured Tony must be in the bathroom and he was about to turn and go check it out, when he noticed a small piece of paper stuck on the refrigerator door. He made his way over and plucked the note off the door and read it carefully.
He reread the note for a second time and cursed vehemently as he pulled his cell from his pocket and hit the speed dial that corresponded with Tony's number. He paced the floor of the kitchen as he waited for the younger man to pick up, but when there was no answer he threw the phone to the kitchen table.
It had been half an hour since he heard any sound indicating the younger man was in the house so the Italian had an half an hour's head start at the most. The man didn't have his car with him as it was still as the headquarters so it was a safe bet that NCIS was the first place he would have gone to. Seeing that he had to call a cab or someone to drive him there, he would have just arrived at his destination so if Gibbs was fast enough he might still catch the younger man there.
He picked up his cell and keys before making his way to his car and heading the way he hoped Tony had gone.
He cursed himself again for not seeing how bad off the younger man had been mentally and he could have head slapped himself for leaving him alone to try and figure things out which most likely caused all Tony's insecurities to rear their ugly head.
Gibbs thought about how bad off the younger man really was and he sighed heavily as he decided to do what he knew he should have done the minute Tony had collapsed in the elevator earlier. With one had on the steering wheel he used the other to hit the speed dial two on his cell and brought the device to his ear. It only rang three times before the call connected.
"Well Good evening Jethro, What can I do for you at this time of night?" Ducky's cultured voice reached his ears.
"Sorry to wake you Duck but I need your help. "
"Oh nonsense my friend, I may be old but even a man of my age can enjoy the late night cinemas once in a while. As a matter of fact there is this rather delightful movie going on about the-"
"Duck!" Gibbs interrupted the other ma before he could get too carried away.
"Oh yes you said you need my help. Is this matter work related or personal, perhaps it may have something to do with you or the lovely Ms. David you've been courting?" There was a note of disapproval in the tone that only now registered in Gibbs' mind even if it was the exact same tone the ME had used every time he had talked about his and Ziva's relationship.
"It's personal and no, I'm not 'courting' her anymore." He winched as he could almost feel the questions wanting to burst from his friend. He quickly summed up the days events, telling about the fact that Ziva had lied to Tony and that the younger man was in a bad way and had even collapsed at work. Once he'd started the flow of words he found himself ranting about the woman's actions and told Ducky everything she'd said in a barely controlled voice. "He left me a note about resigning" The rest of the note would stay between Tony and Gibbs, he'd revealed too much to the ME already.
Ducky had listened with quiet anger as Jethro told everything he'd learned about Ziva's betrayal and about how Tony had been. The stuff with Ziva could be dealt later, right now they would need to concentrate on finding Anthony since The ME hadn't liked one bit the things Jethro had said about the younger man's health.
"Oh Jethro you have been a fool. But we shall talk about that later. I can not believe that you did not call me immediately after Anthony fainted at work! You should have known better Jethro, seeing as the lad obviously hasn't been taking care of himself properly I do fear that there might be something more wrong than just a case of low blood sugar and exhaustion. Listen carefully Jethro this is very important, did Anthony's condition improve at all during the evening? And did he suffer from any unusual symptoms?"
Gibbs thought things over carefully before answering.
"He was a bit better right after eating something, though he didn't eat much and drank only a glass of juice. He was unsteady on his feet all evening and his face was flushed but I thought it was because of the whole Ziva thing." He heard the other man sigh over the sounds of stuff being moved around from where Ducky was most likely gathering his things so he could get going.
"What's wrong Duck?"
"I can't say for sure what's wrong, but that doesn't sound good seeing as we have no idea how the boy really is."
"I think he's at the headquarters since he's car is in there and he'd need to get that to get anywhere. Can you meet me there? "
"I'll be there as soon as I can, It shouldn't take me long at all."
Gibbs nodded his head and pressed the end call- button before placing both hands on the steering wheel and pressing on the gas pedal harder. After the talk with Ducky, his gut was churning more than ever and his chest tightened with worry.~
Tony ran a tired hand over his eyes as he climbed out of the cab and made his way to the entry to the big NCIS building.
He was feeling like crap and the headache had gotten worse and was now feeling like a freaking migraine. On top of that he was also feeling thirsty and his mouth tasted like shit after he'd thrown up just before the cabbie arrived to pick him up.
He quickly passed the security check and exchanged a few words with the night guards before getting in an elevator that would take him to the bullpen.
There was a resignation letter in his bottom drawer of his desk from when he'd written it a few months back when he had first started to get a bit overwhelmed with the whole romance thing between Ziva and Gibbs. In hindsight it might have been better to just get it over with then and move on, but at the time he couldn't leave Gibbs even though he knew there would never be anything between them and that it would break his heart to stay and see the silver fox with David. He couldn't help but wonder if his heart would have been broken less if he'd gone then.
He signed the letter and wrote in the correct date before pushing himself up from his desk chair where he'd collapsed a few minutes earlier.
He wasn't prepared to the whole world tilting and he fell back so he was once again sitting down. He waited a minute for his vision to clear before trying again, this time though he was prepared and he rode out the wave of dizziness and nausea before taking a cautious step forward and making his way to Gibbs' desk.
Tony cleared his throat a bit and licked his dry lips as he put the letter along with his badge and gun on the team leader's desk before turning to leave. He felt like crying at the finality of offering his resignation, but he knew there was no other way So he sucked it up and unsteadily made his way to the elevators.
He took the elevator down to the parking garage and he was grateful for the sold walls he could lean against to keep himself from sliding down to sit on the floor as he waited for the elevator to reach it's destination.
He heard the ding before the doors opened to reveal the almost deserted parking lot. He took a step forward and swayed dangerously before he reached a hand out to steady himself on the wall of the lift.
He shook his head to clear it, but it didn't seem to work. He did a mental shrug as he looked around with his blurry vision and noticed the shadow that was his car.
Taking a deep breath he figured that if he moved quickly, he would get to his car before the dizziness hit. In his tired mind it sounded like a good plan and he spared no further thought to it.
He took another deep breath before pushing himself off the wall and making a beeline for the car. He was almost halfway there when he realized that he was tilting more and more to the right and before he could even try and right himself he was lying on the floor of the parking garage.
He tried to raise himself up bit his limbs wouldn't co-operate and so he was forced to just lie there on the cold floor. He could feel himself shivering as he started to drift off and he swore he could have heard a car screeching to a halt on the other side of the lot. Maybe he was hallucinating.
His last thought before darkness consumed him was that maybe he really was getting sick.
TBC...
Oh no, what's wrong with my Tony? I know that it's a bit of a cruel place to end, but you'll find out everything in the next chappie and I'll try not to make you wait too long :)